One Right Reading?: A Guide to Irenaeus - Softcover

Donovan, Mary Ann

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9780814658758: One Right Reading?: A Guide to Irenaeus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 081465875X ISBN 13: 9780814658758

Publisher: Liturgical Pr, 1997

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Book by Donovan, Mary Ann

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Who is a Christian? Is there a clear and recognizable Christian identity? Such questions, heard often near the close of the second millennium, were equally pressing at the beginning of the first. One Right Reading?, a coherent presentation of Irenaeus of Lyons' thought, focuses on such questions by following the development of his thought and placing it in the context of issues that recur today. The second century was the century for the construction of Christian identity. As the principal architect of that identity, Irenaeus of Lyons shaped Christian views on Scripture, exegesis, theology, institutions, and spirituality to such an extent that his imprint is still discernible two thousand years later. By addressing recurring pastoral issues around new religious movements, inculturation, unity and pluralism, the value of the human person, and the meaning of death, his voice has claimed the attention of people who face similar concerns today. In One Right Reading?, Donovan represents clearly and concisely what Irenaeus says, following the order of his argument and respecting his content. It is through this engagement with Ireneaus that readers may shape informed opinions about his continuing contribution to the Christian Church. An invaluable companion to the reader of Adversus haereses, Irenaeus' important early work, One Right Reading? offers an introduction to the intricacies of the Irenaean style, explains the content of his thought with attention to his major contributions, and points out areas that have been the focus of scholarly interest. It shows how Irenaeus' fundamentally conservative theological position was overturned by his rhetorical tactics as he used his "traditional" basis to confront the Gnostics who used the same "tradition" to their own purposes. One Right Reading? fills a lacuna in the patristics field, offering a solid discussion of the earliest patristic traditions in scriptural interpretation. It is a guide to the important early work of Irenaeus of Lyons written at a level that is accessible to students, preachers, teachers, and all those interested in Ireneaus' distinctive spirituality and his influence on eastern Christianity.

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